An hour in Arneson

I'm tired, having gone without a good night's sleep in weeks. I spent my time late last night squinting to force my eyelids open as i cranked out my page of APUSH id's, the last homework of the night, the screen sometimes going fuzzy as sleep began to creep in. I'm sick, probably due to the lack of rest and the hordes of kids moving through school around me, several sick themselves. All i want is to feel better and rested..I know that i should just get my homework done and get to bed as soon as possible.

But it's nice out.
The sun is shining, there's little wind, and the slush has faded from this past weekend's (relative) warmth. Conditions are perfect (flight of the conchords anyone?).

I need my play time, and my playground's waiting. So on go the shoes, on slide the gloves, and up zips the jacket. I didn't really have enough layers on-nothing underneath my khakis except the usual goods, but this didn't occur to me until i was gone-gone from being sick and tired, and gone into the open air.

It definitely had been some time since i'd been out to move; i felt a little silly (yep definitely been awhile; usually pride never stops me) sprinting down my street to slide on the ice strips that marked the dry pavement, starting small, but growing in my daring as i even chanced a smile. Maybe my neighbors didn't see me.

After walking on some rails, scurrying up a small rise, and crossing a short parking lot, i had arrived. Arneson Acres was there before me, stretched out like a vast welcome wagon-i hadn't been back since early fall. Suddenly a giddiness just bubbled up inside of me and i took off down the snow covered slopes leading into the double-dipping "valley", smiling and laughing as i picked up speed.

After i came to a stop, being careful to avoid the countless divots in the frozen snow, i came to an interesting tree that i had climbed a bit before, but this time i noticed that one of the major branches (can't really call it a trunk) was completely bent, arcing down to the ground, making a little archway. I then dropped to all fours, shuffling, crawling, and rolling through this little passageway, making believe that i was a commando, an orc, a traceur, maybe even a minotaur whynot. At times i would pause and laugh at where my imagination was taking me.

It wasn't long before i had moved onto other trees that i had never even considered climbing; now that their foliage had fallen i could see paths that weren't previously visible. About 10 feet up in one particular tree i was relaxing, taking in the 5 degree weather, when i turned and found myself a couple inches from a large cove of frozen sap on the underside of a thick branch. I was a little disappointed to find that it was relatively tasteless (no more inhibitions here though i suppose i could have been naked, but..eh).

After coming down from this tree i raced through the woods, dodging and weaving through the snow and in between pines, until i came to my most-frequented tree: a 50-55 ft pine(?) that looked the exact same on this cold winter day as it did in the summer. A quick hustle to around the 40 ft point, and i decided it was time to head back.

On the walk home, i felt much better; a lightness had come and complemented some of the fatigue from my play, and a daytime moon was hovering over my street. My legs were cold, my face was getting numb, but it was worth it-i'd had my fun and played; not trained, but played. And it felt great.

Winter Update

Well it's cold and nippy, the sun is out less, and my cats are always staring outside longingly. Yep-it must be Winter! I've been going through the usual stuffs; hanging out with friends, enjoying my winter break, playing my music, and trying to get myself into gear to finish lettering in community service.I've also begun to work more on my ping pong (table tennis for those of you who care) skills, and there's been substantial improvement in my play. Forehand topspin has gotten better, and back hand topspin is what i've really been working to improve.

I've also started to go to the Hylands Ski area near my house, and my skiing is definitely getting better. Now if i could just get a large amount of cash to buy a season pass and skiing equipment...
And lastly i have concluded the major pushing on linear progression, and just today i concluded my testing. Here are the results and the goals to follow:

At at bodyweight of 180lbs,
Deadlift: 1.92xbw
Goal: 2.25xbw
Back Squat: 1.89xbw
Goal: 2.15xbw
Weighted Dips: .50xbw
Goal: .60xbw
Weighted Pull ups: .42xbw
Goal: .55xbw
Dumbbell Press: .67xbw
Goal: .80xbw

In season i will be cutting back to two days a week, one squat and one deadlifting. I will also be just working up to a 2x5 for my squat day and the same 1x5 on my deadlift day. (assuming this doesn't affect my play. If so, i will have to cut back more on volume). Ideally i will be able to still gain weight slowly while getting stronger. Even if my body has adapted i will still need to go slow. I'm going to try to wring out as much life of linear progression as i can. Will i be able to do so for 6 months? uhhhh nope.I think that mid season i will begin to transition into the intermediate template that chris salvato outlined in his log.

Also, i am looking into acquiring a new saxophone; right now i'm looking at a Yanasigawa A901 Alto model, but it's not cheap. I'm hoping to get a job sooner rather than later to pay for this, and if i'm lucky, maybe some skis when the end-of-season clearances roll around. And to think i used to be proud of how i could enjoy all sorts of things without spending alot of money. Too bad i was under this impression years after my parents had already bought my musical and athletic gear.

Today i spent some time watching parkour videos, reading blogs, etc. and it made me miss movement and contemplate how much i haven't done. Sure, i've gotten stronger and faster, but so much time away from bodyweight movement/climbing/exploring (basically since fall..not that long but feels like an eternity) makes me feel like i'm missing out on things. Back when i first discovered parkour i felt like i had found a huge chunk of myself that i never knew was there (i'm sure that many practitioners have experienced this too). I began to climb more, get out and explore, see the world differently, and do new things that i would have never dared to try. Although these thoughts aren't terribly productive, they do sum up one thing: i need to get my wrists finished with their rehab/flexibility/strengthening so i can begin to move as i used to. At the very least, i'm appreciating what i've been given far more than when i was younger.

Fall Update

Well i haven't posted in a small while, but i figured i would get in a little writing just to keep this blog moving. My linear progression and weight gain has been going pretty smoothly; i'm loving squats more and more as i get stronger, and the same goes for deadlifts but as a hate thing. The deads are such an all-encompassing lift that as i see more weight go onto the bar each session, i'm almost getting annoyed at the knowledge of how tough it will be. That said, all aspects of my strength and power have improved, with my grip strength serving as a serious exclamation point to that-due to my wrists being messed up and weakened for so long, my grip has noticeably changed.

I've also been glad to see that incorporating a metcon/power/speed day has helped with maintaining endurance, while adding on to my strength gains for increased explosiveness in my movements.

Outside of training, i have been keeping busy with school, band (jazz, marching, and varsity) studying for the SAT and ACT, and trying to hang out with friends as much as possible. This means that i haven't been sleeping as much as i would like (8+ hours) but i've been taking steps to change that. I'm also continuing to work on my juggling, balance, and other projects, though these are more spare time affairs, whereas in the summer i had much more time to dedicate.

And most recently i was in Wisconsin this past MEA break to check out Beloit college and Madison-the drive up was tremendous, as the weather was great, and the fall colors were on full display as we traveled through rural Minneosta and Wisconsin. When we arrived, i found Beloit to be a pretty interesting school (and struck an incredible resemblance to the Animal House campus) what with the new science building, tunnels under the school, and native american burial mounds, but i think that it is too small for me; there are 3000 some students, and you can walk across the campus in 15-20 minutes if you take your time.

In contrast, Madison practically overloaded my senses when we got there-people were everywhere, it was very much like a city rather than a little college town, and with all that there was to see, i enjoyed it very much. We met up with some friends at the Union by accident, and after touring around with some older siblings and other relatives, got a pretty nice feel for the campus (or at least what can be done in 6 hours). I'll be heading back to visit in November, and i'm looking forward to seeing the Badgers football team play, as well as what else there is around the city.

From Summer to School; the Inevitable Transition

So here it is: the last (gorgeous) day of my summer away from school..i'm here at my computer, prepping for the day a quarter to 9 am. Before i embark on the rest of my day (which consists of lifting heavy and baking muffins and cupcakes) i decided that i should like to reflect upon my summer, which was full of plenty highs and a few lows.

In summers past, i had sometimes found myself at the 1st of September, wondering just where the hell my free time went? Today, i don't feel this way, and i realize why. This time, i went out of my way to constantly try to discover new things and work on various projects. I hardly played video games (though this weekend i played a ton of tower defense games) and watched less tv during the prime of the day. My mornings and nights had time for this, but i made sure that i always tried to get things done that i won't be able to even think about during school.

Anyway, let's start the recap!











-Bike trips to Hidden Beach (my favorite hippy/nudist/chill place)
-Buddhist Monks who did grandma's funeral came and spent time with us
-Got over my fear of heights in tall trees (40-50 ft)
-Played Missions at the new Highlands playground
-Botched Free Cooler Day, which we hoped would provide 200 free Caribou Coffee Coolers
-Bowling ball was bought at garage sale; made for fun in the pool
-I toughened my feet to the point where i can run and walk normally without worrying about where i step
-Went bridge jumping
-Worked on my table tennis game
-Went to the Irish Fair for Flogging Molly
-Attempted to read an entire anime series (all 26 volumes) for free at Barnes&Noble
-Tried goodies at the State Fair, like Fried Fruit on a Stick (no chocolate covered bacon though) and got condoms on a stick
-Went to the University of Minnesota, did parkour, met Zac Cohn as well as some guys from the Minnesota Parkour community
-Learned how to Canoe
-Developed a decent level of beginner's juggling (can get 4 balls at once)
-Balance is much improved; especially at heights
-Read oodles of good books..The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (vol. 1 and 2), The Celestine Prophecy, The Alchemyst, The Tao of Pooh, several Magic School Bus Books
-Won our House league soccer championship again
-Made a mesopotamian pyramid out of sand at Hidden Beach
-Saw Pineapple Express
-Learned Random Tidbits, such as why there are holes in Swiss Cheese, histories of Atlantis and John Henry, and the background of the musical group LadySmith Black Mambazo

There are still things that i want to do, however..
-Soccer Tennis
-Ping Pong Grand Slam Tour (this one i won't explain, as it's a secret..or i could, but i've got to wrap this up)
-Get the 200 free coffee coolers
-Play tree tag
-Missions at Highlands more
-Make Bow and Arrow
-Make a Boomerang
-More Concerts
-More Fun

Right, so there's my wrap up! This summer was a great one, and I'm hoping that this fall, winter, and spring bring more fun, more good people, and more memorable experiences.

New Cycle, New Focus

Ok, so after these past 3 weeks (+ a day or so) i have dropped my morning weight by about 7 lbs while maintaining muscle mass for the most part. Again, this was using a 4 days/week plan where i focused on metabolic circuits, sprints, and some compound lifting. I've noticed definite changes in my body composition, so i know that i've been making progress to back up what the scale has been saying, and since i've gotten down to the 160-162 lb area, i'm now going to transition into a reg-park inspired 5x5 program for strength.

The basic idea is this..

Monday:
5x5 back squat
5x5 barbell row
5x5 dips
RC work

Tuesday:
Metabolic Circuit

Wednesday:
Off

Thursday:
5x5 deadlift
5x5 seated row
5x5 overhead press
RC work

Friday:
Metabolic Circuit

Saturday, Sunday:
Off

For the next two weeks i will try to consume enough calories to maintain my bodyweight around 160-162 before changing the program to 3 str. and 1 met. days as i attempt to slowly gain weight.

Goals Revisited

So after realizing that i can back squat a good distance past parallel with solid high bar form as well as knock out 16 strict pull ups cold, i've decided to alter my goals a bit.

-1 muscle up (again)
-9 ft broad jump (measuring to heels)
-15 dips
-20 pull ups (i'll use strict for testing, but kipping to get there)
-5x235 back squat

Most of these are fairly short term; i'm confident that i can get the muscle up, 15 dips, and back squat by the end of my next strength cycle because most of this will be reestablishing central nervous system efficiency; i've achieved these before. Even the pull ups are a possibility, but after getting in the mid to upper teens, it seems that i will have to actually do specific high rep work to get the 20. The broad jump will be the difficult one, as it will take both heavy lifting, power and technical practice, but hopefully i'll have it sooner rather than later.

Mosh day

I wasn't planning on doing a write-up on my musical adventures yesterday, but i feel compelled..around 4 o'clock i went to a daytime gig of some friends of mine-they were playing near the university of minnesota campus in the dinkytowner "cafe" (pretty much a bar with a mini pit and stage). A "dank, dark, dungeon" we decided, but it served as the stage for my first mosh pit of the day, which was to the music of the Hospital Bombs, as well as others like Jesus and the Homeless Bastards, The Robert Downey Jr.'s..and so on. The music was pretty good, and i got a shoulder in the eye, cutting my face a little. As it turned out, this was just a little sample spooning of what was to come.

After the gig, i called around to get directions to Harriet Island, which was the location of this year's Irish Fair. I wish i had spent more time in the fair, but i only went to hear Flogging Molly this time round the bend. After hurriedly finding our friends who were waiting for us, Tom (buddy) and I took a quick biffy break and dashed over to the music stage, where a few thousand people were gathered, making it a little difficult to get near the front. Through a little jackassery and the kindness of strangers, we emerged within 100 ft or so of Flogging Molly, and in the thick of the second song's Mosh Pit. From then on it was nonstop chaotic, sweaty (yum) fun; the individual incidents are too many to name, but suffice to say i took on some beast of a guy wearing only suspenders and a beret, and was picked up and thrown by a fully clothed fellow who looked oddly out of place. The music was also terrific; the group sounded just like their recordings, though live singing always leaves the songs subject to a little change for the crowd. I'm hoarse from screaming so much (i can't say woo) but it was worth it..the night ended by continuing a little longer, as we called for "one more song!" to the tune of Oleeee, ole-ole-oleeee...


They went out with a bang, thanking the crowd, Minnesota, security guards, and the like while we regrouped and began to wander away from the stage in a happy haze. It took another hour or so for us to actually get home, but we agreed the outing was definitely well worth it, and certainly could have ended up worse: my phone was out of batteries, we were in St. Paul which we don't know that well, we had 2 or 3 gallons of gas left, it was night time, and we didn't have much beyond a foggy inkling as to what highways to take. However, in the end we got to enjoy friends, music, and meet some cool folks that made the night special.. all while making it home- bruised, happy, and tired, planning on absolutely doing this again.